Six environmental experts, who fled the Taliban, are denied entry to the UK for the climate summit without explanation

Just days before the start of the Cop26 climate summit, six Afghan environmental experts were informed that their applications to attend as delegates had been rejected. The group, consisting of five men and one woman, had fled the Taliban and were seeking to represent the concerns of Afghans about the climate crisis at the international event.

The delegates, who are currently in hiding in neighboring countries, had been looking forward to attending Cop26 to amplify Afghanistan’s climate challenges. However, no official reason has been provided for the rejection of their applications. Initially, the delegates believed that either the Home Office or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the UK had vetoed their travel plans.

FCDO sources later clarified that the decision was not made by any UK government department, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat confirmed that it would not be registering delegates from Afghanistan due to pending guidance from the Bureau of the Cop26.